“Define hero.”A discussion on Bayaning Third World

Prepared by Mia Marci for En11 ADMU R41 and R63

11/30/2015

Before this...

There was this.

Recap: The Film

In “Bayaning Third World”, director Mike de Leon uses the mode of metafiction to ask pressing questions about how Filipinos regard heroism.

Just to give you an idea...

De Leon's film took three years to make. It was first announced in 1997, but was only completed in 2000.

It was also on the heels of a Filipino hero frenzy, perhaps because of the Philippine freedom centennial celebrations of 1998.

Heroes filled the screen

Tikoy Aguiluz's Rizal sa Dapitan (1997) Marilou Diaz Abaya's Jose Rizal (1998) Mario O'Hara's Sisa (1999)

But even without the string of blockbusters, you could see that the Philippines has some kind of Rizal mania. Ever notice how almost every other barangay has a Rizal statue?

Here's Rizal from “Rizal Without the Overcoat” by Ambeth Ocampo (1990)

Here are Jose Rizal cigarettes circa unknown

Here's Rizal in Catbalogan City Hall, Catbalogan City, Western Samar

But back to Bayaning Third World...

When the movie was released, Direk de Leon bannered it under, “This is not a Rizal movie.”

It clearly wasn't. It talked about his life, but not really. As we know, the main thesis goes of the movie asks, “What makes Jose Rizal a hero?” as two filmmakers struggled with making his life fit for the screen.

The Retraction

There is also the dispute of whether Rizal retracted or not, based on a a document signed by Rizal and presented by Fr. Balaguer SJ after his death. It claims that Rizal “retracted” his being a freemason and embraced Roman Catholicism.

The dispute continues to this day. You'll learn more about it in your Rizal class in junior or senior year.

The movie asks...

“Does the fact that Rizal retracted really matter?” After having written and published Noli and Fili, doesn't that act live on beyond one disputable retraction?

The movie asks...

“What makes one heroic?” Rizal's life was deemed better for the books according to the filmmakers in Bayaning Third World. The argument against his being a national hero is usually in how Rizal doesn't do much else beyond travel, sleep, and write two novels versus other heroes who actually fought and died for the country.

The movie asks...

“When heroes are made human, are they any less heroic?”

Bayaning Third World isn't a Rizal movie, but it does challenge the local notion of how we perceive our heroes.

Now what?

We started the sem by asking what a leader is. Now you have learned (I hope) to think a little better.

Let's discuss the questions raised by Bayaning Third World.

QUESTIONS

Why do you think the film was entitled “Bayaning Third World”? How did it use Rizal as the national hero to illustrate or define the third world hero?

Do you agree with the concept of “national heroes” in the making of a nation's identity? Why or why not?

Discussion Period:12:30am November 30, 2015 to 11:55pm December 1, 2015

Gracias.

Citations and Credits

Photos taken from everywhere on google, Josie Rizal fan art seen on facebook.

Rizal tsundere photo by Roberto Wong on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151838905370423&set=a.95960370422.101732.572280422&type=3&theater